Masterpiece Of The Heart
by leeowl
Summary: Ella Delilah, the new intern that has been hired for the team, is slowly but surely invited into the life of the smartest man she's ever met—and he, himself, finds his way into the depths of what is known, yet unknown even to someone as smart as him, as a crush.
1. Chapter 1 - Rose

Reid's pencil nearly snapped between his fingers. He twiddled it in concentration; the harder he concentrated, the harder he twiddled.

He had decided that he was going to speak to Ella Deliliah—the young girl who was tapping away at her keyboard—but he couldn't figure out how to break the ice. Getting up, Reid began slowly walking over to her, racking his brain for something to speak to her about. His eyes studied her desk, landing on the few little bits and bobs she had on her desk, finally landing on a framed painting of a rose that sat beside her computer. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he realized he figured out the subject of his first solo talk with the team's new intern.

"Did you know that there are over one-hundred species of the rose, and despite the common phrase 'a rose's thorns,' they're actually called 'prickles' because they are on the surface of the stem rather than being deeper rooted into the plant." Reid spoke quickly, more as a statement than a question, causing Delilah to look up at him. He gestured to the framed photo, her eyes following his gesture and smiling.

Reid fiddled with his hands as his mouth stretched out into a line. "Are they your favorite flower?" He asked.

Delilah smiled and picked up the frame. "You could say that." She turned the frame in her hands, gently sliding the back of the frame off with her thumbs as they glided over words that were written on the back of the painting. "My mom painted this for me while she was in cancer treatment," her glittering blue eyes flicked up to the tall boy who was standing next to her, "and I think that, since then, the rose has been my favorite flower."

* * *

The day was coming to an end. The team had just solved a case and everyone was ready to head home and sleep it off.

It was the day after Reid's conversation with Ella Delilah, but neither of them could get the idea of speaking to one another a second time out of their mind. When Delilah had made her way out of the conference room, she noticed that Reid had already left. Her shoulders slumped, due to her earlier plans to catch him before he went home, eager to have another conversation with the boy who knew everything.

As she made her way back to her desk, she noticed something lying across her keyboard. She took her glasses from the neck of her shirt and slid them on, a gentle gasp leaving her lips as she noticed what the foreign object on her desk was. She made her way over and picked it up, twirling it between her fingers as a big smile found it's way onto her tired face.

 _A single red rose._


	2. Chapter 2 - All-Nighter

"It'll take me the whole night, but I can do it." Reid said, his mouth forming into a straight line. It was nearly 9pm and the team had boxes and boxes of evidence to go through; most of which were filled with diaries from the suspected killer.

Hotch cleared his throat; they had all been awake for two days. Sleep was long overdue, but Reid was willing to take one for the team so that they could get a profile out in the morning. "You need sleep, Reid."

Reid nodded, acknowledging his boss. "I'll sleep as soon as I'm done."

Gideon gave a glance to Hotch, who nodded. "Okay everyone, we'll meet back here with a profile first thing." Hotch said before the team scattered, getting ready to leave.

* * *

Reid had been working for about an hour before he made his way into the break room. There were only a few people still in the building—all studying some sort of information to catch a suspect, as he was. Once he stepped foot into the break room, though, his breath escaped his lips as his eyes focused on a form that was curled up on one of the couches—Delilah.

He wondered if she was also staying behind to work, or if she just hadn't woken up from the nap that she took earlier. He wondered for what seemed like minutes if he should wake her or not. He shrugged it off, figuring she could use the sleep. She slept a _lot,_ he noticed. Well… she at least slept a lot during the day. She wouldn't sleep on the job, no—but she would sleep _in-between_ jobs. Basically, she'd nap when she wouldn't have any work to be doing. It made him wonder how much sleep she got at home.

Deep in thought about the girl behind him, Reid began making himself a _strong_ cup of coffee. _I need to stay up until five. If I have this now, I should crash around six so I'll be able to rest before we need to give the profile at nine, and then_ — a stirring from behind him pulled him from his thoughts. He quickly turned around, the coffee nearly sloshing out of his mug, as he noticed that Delilah was waking up. He tried to escape the room before she fully recovered from her nap, but he didn't quite make it.

"Reid?" The tired voice of Delilah sent chills down his body. He stopped in his tracks and nodded toward her. "What time is it?"

He checked his watch, despite knowing exactly what time it was. "A little after ten." He said casually. _Ten-seventeen._

Delilah sat up; her dress wrinkled and her hair a little messy. When they weren't leaving the office, she would wear dresses covered in flowers or other prints, but when they traveled, she'd wear tighter trousers and colored cardigans to try to make a professional impression. Reid, though, really liked it when he got to see her in the office.

Looking out the windows of the room and into the bullpen, Delilah spoke in a soft voice. "Did everyone else go home?"

Reid nodded toward her. His throat suddenly felt dry, so he didn't dare try to speak.

Delilah finally stood up and smoothed out her dress. Her head cocked to the side as she looked up at the tall boy by the door. "Why're you still here, Reid?"

His name coming from her lips made him feel chilled down to the bone. He cleared his throat before speaking fast, "I'm staying here all night to go through the journals we found." It was Delilah's turn to nod. Her face twisted a bit as she was now the one lost in thought. After a few moments, Reid spoke up. "Do you need a ride home?"

Delilah was surprised. She almost nodded, but caught herself. "Actually," she said, "I have some work that I need to get done, as well. I'll stay here with you."


	3. Chapter 3 - Late Night

Delilah worked in Hotch's office, where she was expected to transfer a large stack of files to digital. Everyone was coming around to using digital, so Hotch wanted to be prepared for that movement. She could do this task rather quickly, but she slowed herself down. She tried to convince herself that her slowness was due to her being tired, but she knew deep down that there was another reason why she was taking her time.

In the other room, Reid was reading through diary after diary, occasionally writing things on the board. It hadn't been more than forty-five minutes before Delilah made her way into the conference room with a cup of coffee, hoping to make some small talk with Reid.

She leaned her back against the doorway, watching him flip through several pages a minute; certain that he didn't even notice that she was standing there. She was told about Reid's abilities. She smiled, taking a sip from her coffee. "How many have you gone through?"

Reid looked up, a bit startled, but he noticed her come in. He gestured to a stack of about nine or ten journals next to him on the table before going back to reading. He wanted to talk to her, but he was also focused on finishing the journals as soon as possible so he'd have enough time to sleep.

Delilah watched him some more, feeling as if her presence wasn't welcome. She turned around to leave, but Reid's voice stopped her. "What're you working on?" He asked. When she turned around, she noticed that a book lie open on the table, his arms folded on top of it, his shoulders slightly hunched—his eyes staring at her and his mouth in a line.

She took a few steps into the room and smiled. "Well, Hotch is having me convert a bunch of files to digital format." She spoke in a very warm manner.

Reid smiled, as well. "I'm glad he's finally embracing technology."

Delilah nodded, noting their boss's resentment to keeping everything on a computer. He knew it was too easy for hackers to steal information when things are digital, but he trusted that Garcia would keep the files safe. _Hotch._ Reid didn't know her history with that man.

Reid stood up, surprising Delilah. He flipped the journal over, to keep his page, before walking toward her. Her heart beat quickly, wondering why he was heading her way, but she quickly realized that he was just heading for the door. "I should probably get some fresh air," he said, passing Delilah, "I feel like I haven't seen the sky for days."

Delilah understood. They have been cooped up inside for most of the week, trying to find this unsub. The only time they had been outside was when they were in an SUV, being transfered to another place.

Finishing her coffee, Delilah set her mug down on the conference table and made her way to one of the doors that led to the balcony of the building-the way that she saw Reid heading.


	4. Chapter 4 - Alone Time

Delilah followed Reid toward the balcony, keeping some distance between them. She was nearly to the door before having the thought, _what if he wants to be alone?_ Her face dropped as she was about to turn away, but Reid's inviting voice filled her ears.

"You coming out?" He asked, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards. Delilah nodded, noticing that Reid was holding the door open for her. She slipped past him and made her way onto the dark balcony; the sounds of passing cars immediately apparent. She took a deep breath; noticing Reid make his way to the edge, looking out at the city.

Delilah followed, immediately noticing their height difference. He leaned on the balcony railing with grace; his elbows resting lazily with his shoulders hunched, one side of his hair laid across his forehead while the other side was tamed behind his ear. His mouth was surprisingly relaxed and there was not a sign of stress in his brow like there usually was when he worked cases. It almost seemed like he was a different man the second he walked out the door.

Catching herself staring, Delilah turned her head toward the traffic in the distance, not-so-gracefully leaning on the railing with her arms folded and her chin sitting on top of them. She sighed, a little more heavily than she was anticipating, which caused Reid to look in her direction.

"Tired?" He asked her. "I could take you home," he offered, knowing that she usually hailed a cab or was taken home by Hotch. He's concluded that she doesn't have a car.

Delilah shook her head a little too quickly. "It's okay, really. I should finish the files before going home." She knew for a fact that Hotch wasn't too worried about the files, but she recently found that she liked being at the BAU rather than sitting alone in her studio apartment.

Reid cleared his throat, causing Delilah to look into his direction. "It's nice to step out of there every once in a while." He attempted to tuck the other side of his hair behind his ear, but it just slipped back to it's usual spot. "You can't be around that sort of thing twenty-four-seven. It's not good for you." He turned to face Delilah, leaning his elbow on the railing. Delilah just blushed and nodded. She knew he was right, but working on files and cases took her mind off of her own problems.

Delilah rubbed her eyes beneath her glasses. "I need some more coffee." She spoke softly before slipping back inside. Reid almost didn't notice her leave, she was so quick. Her movements were graceful, and he admired that about her. The way her dress swayed with her movements, the way her fingers tugged at the hem when she was nervous, the way she'd sometimes trip on her own feet and think nobody saw her, but he did...

Turning back to look out onto the city, Reid sighed; what was this girl doing to him?


End file.
